1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to data processing systems and, in particular, to a data processing system and method for efficiently maintaining security during a booting of the system. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a data processing system and method for specifying one of a plurality of password requirements separately for each boot device included within the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal computer systems are well known in the art. They have attained widespread use for providing computer power to many segments of today's modern society. Personal computers (PCs) may be defined as a desktop, floor standing, or portable microcomputer that includes a system unit having a central processing unit (CPU) and associated volatile and non-volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM) and basic input/output system read only memory (BIOS ROM), a system monitor, a keyboard, one or more flexible diskette drives, a CD-ROM drive, a fixed disk storage drive (also known as a "hard drive"), a pointing device such as a mouse, and an optional network interface adapter. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a motherboard or system planar to electrically connect these components together. Examples of such personal computer systems are IBM's PC series, Aptiva series, and Thinkpad series.
A common function provided for in currently available computer systems is a scheme whereby a user may set a password that must be entered prior to the system completing its boot process. The requirement of a correct entry of a password prohibits unauthorized users from accessing the system. These schemes prevent all further boot activities until the password is correctly entered.
Those systems permit the specification of a single password requirement for all of the devices. The password requirement defines whether any password is required in order to boot utilizing any of the boot devices. However, the same password requirement applies to all of the devices. If a password requirement is specified such that correct entry of a password is necessary, the password must be correctly entered whether the user is booting utilizing the floppy drive, CD ROM drive, the network, or the hard drive.
An additional password may be specified by the operating system which requires correct entry of the password prior to utilizing the operating system. For these systems, a user is required to correctly enter two passwords each time the system boots.
Another password scheme is known for permitting a networked system to remotely cause a client to boot utilizing the network without entering a password, or to boot locally if a password was correctly entered. This scheme is called "dual mode".
Therefore a need exists for a data processing system and method for efficiently maintaining security during a booting of the system by specifying a separate password requirement for each possible bootable device.